To link to the entire object, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed the entire object, paste this HTML in websiteTo link to this page, paste this link in email, IM or documentTo embed this page, paste this HTML in website

NCEDL TECHNICAL REPORT # 2 21
The percentages for the academic category
reflect the standardization of curriculum, equip-ment,
hours, training, and activities, but the
program also represents a drive to be proactive
instead of reactive.
The idea that we were getting a head start,
doing something before the fact, to prevent
children from not being ready for school.
Something, where we were doing something up
front instead of having to deal with, Oops, this
child went through kindergarten and was not
ready so lets remediate. Let’s refer to special
education let’s do all these things.
– Georgia interviewee
Geography and media were noticeably absent
as facilitators in Georgia. Issues were accommo-dated
as they arose, especially in rural communi-ties,
so geography was not a measurable influence.
The media played a negligible role in Georgia.
BARRIERS
Figure 1b represents the barrier statements that
were presented by the interviewees in Georgia. The
high percentage of responses in the institutional
( a total of 73 separate responses) and group ( 60
separate responses) areas reflect the major difficul-ties
faced when going from a program for at- risk
children to serving all four- year- old children. Child
care proponents were horrified because the prekin-dergarten
program would take away their four- year-olds
just like the schools had taken away their five-year-
olds ( into kindergarten) and their school- age
children with after- school programs. Now the four-year-
olds would be marching out the doors and they
were very upset. Many of the school programs were
in mobile units with no bathrooms and some did
not have ‘ child friendly’ spaces.
Child care felt they could offer the same or
better services and they should be included as a
player also.
At the time OSR was established, Governor
Miller had multiple political problems with the
prekindergarten program. Not all parents were
pleased, private child care providers felt that
they were not receiving their share of pro-grams
or funding, the Head Start community
was accusing private providers and school
systems of “ stealing” their children, the
education community did not consider prekin-dergarten
to be an integral component, the
Christian Coalition felt that government was
imposing more requirements on families and
wanted the children to remain at home, and
the local press was extremely critical about the
expensive lottery program.
– Georgia interviewee
The Christian right fought to keep children at
home with their mother. They feared that having a
‘ free’ program would encourage mothers to return to
work outside the home. Additionally the ongoing
function of the OSR in the regulation of programs was
a difficult issue. It is a licensing agency for programs
that have a state- funded prekindergarten program but
not for locations that are a part of the program.
What happens is a child care center gets a
contract one year, but at the end of the year,
Office of School Readiness says your quality
wasn’t there, you don’t have enough qualified
teachers on staff, or whatever. They’ll pull the
contract for the next year, and do a contract
with another organization. Well, then that
business, that child care center then goes back
to the Department of Human Resources to be
regulated the following year. What you get is
this patchwork kind of regulatory system. The
two entities happen to be working as close as
they can at the moment, but you have got
bureaucratic turf.
– Georgia interviewee
Resources, or the lack of time for implementa-tion,
represented a barrier in Georgia because of

NCEDL TECHNICAL REPORT # 2 21
The percentages for the academic category
reflect the standardization of curriculum, equip-ment,
hours, training, and activities, but the
program also represents a drive to be proactive
instead of reactive.
The idea that we were getting a head start,
doing something before the fact, to prevent
children from not being ready for school.
Something, where we were doing something up
front instead of having to deal with, Oops, this
child went through kindergarten and was not
ready so lets remediate. Let’s refer to special
education let’s do all these things.
– Georgia interviewee
Geography and media were noticeably absent
as facilitators in Georgia. Issues were accommo-dated
as they arose, especially in rural communi-ties,
so geography was not a measurable influence.
The media played a negligible role in Georgia.
BARRIERS
Figure 1b represents the barrier statements that
were presented by the interviewees in Georgia. The
high percentage of responses in the institutional
( a total of 73 separate responses) and group ( 60
separate responses) areas reflect the major difficul-ties
faced when going from a program for at- risk
children to serving all four- year- old children. Child
care proponents were horrified because the prekin-dergarten
program would take away their four- year-olds
just like the schools had taken away their five-year-
olds ( into kindergarten) and their school- age
children with after- school programs. Now the four-year-
olds would be marching out the doors and they
were very upset. Many of the school programs were
in mobile units with no bathrooms and some did
not have ‘ child friendly’ spaces.
Child care felt they could offer the same or
better services and they should be included as a
player also.
At the time OSR was established, Governor
Miller had multiple political problems with the
prekindergarten program. Not all parents were
pleased, private child care providers felt that
they were not receiving their share of pro-grams
or funding, the Head Start community
was accusing private providers and school
systems of “ stealing” their children, the
education community did not consider prekin-dergarten
to be an integral component, the
Christian Coalition felt that government was
imposing more requirements on families and
wanted the children to remain at home, and
the local press was extremely critical about the
expensive lottery program.
– Georgia interviewee
The Christian right fought to keep children at
home with their mother. They feared that having a
‘ free’ program would encourage mothers to return to
work outside the home. Additionally the ongoing
function of the OSR in the regulation of programs was
a difficult issue. It is a licensing agency for programs
that have a state- funded prekindergarten program but
not for locations that are a part of the program.
What happens is a child care center gets a
contract one year, but at the end of the year,
Office of School Readiness says your quality
wasn’t there, you don’t have enough qualified
teachers on staff, or whatever. They’ll pull the
contract for the next year, and do a contract
with another organization. Well, then that
business, that child care center then goes back
to the Department of Human Resources to be
regulated the following year. What you get is
this patchwork kind of regulatory system. The
two entities happen to be working as close as
they can at the moment, but you have got
bureaucratic turf.
– Georgia interviewee
Resources, or the lack of time for implementa-tion,
represented a barrier in Georgia because of